Laurie Juspeczyk

From Watchmen Wiki

Laurel Jane Juspeczyk
Alias	Silk Spectre (? - 1985) Sandra Hollis (1985 - ?)
Born	1949
Father	Laurence Schexnayder (adopted) Edward Blake (biological)
Mother	Sally Jupiter
Actor	Malin Akerman Haley Guiel (13 years old)

Laurel Jane Juspeczyk (1950 - ), more commonly known as Laurie Juspeczyk (Pronounced: use-PETCH-ick), was the second character in Watchmen to be known as the Silk Spectre. She was the daughter of Sally Jupiter, the original Silk Spectre and The Comedian. During the events of Watchmen, Laurie serves as the series' main female protagonist.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Events of Watchmen 3 Film Version 4 Gallery

Biography

Laurie Juspeczyk was born in 1950. Sally Jupiter pushed her daughter into the "family business" of crime fighting. Laurie never held much interest in becoming her mother's successor, but went along with Sally's wishes anyway; growing up, the brunette Laurie knew Laurence Schexnayder was not her real father, and always believed, incorrectly, that her real father was Hooded Justice. Laurie Juspeczyk is liberal-thinking and a "modern" woman. Clearly Laurie is proud of her Polish heritage insisting that everyone uses her real name of Juspeczyk and not her mother's assumed name of Jupiter. She is vocal in her feminist and humanitarian concerns and is quite a conditioned fighter, and at the start of the story is shown to have a strained relationship with her mother. Driven by the memories of her own experience, Sally tried to keep Laurie from knowing some of the harsher realities of the crime-fighting life; for example, she didn't allow her to read Hollis Mason (Nite Owl I)'s autobiography Under the Hood (which included the Comedian's sexual assault on Sally, something Laurie knew nothing of). Sally acted like an agent for her daughter, picking out her revealing costume, bringing her to the meeting of the ill-fated "Crimebusters" in a limousine and waiting outside for her to finish. After the meeting broke up, Laurie met the Comedian outside, who commented and complimented her for being the spitting image of her mother, but their conversation was broken up quickly by an angry Sally. Laurie noted that the Comedian looked sad as he watched them drive away, and she felt sorry for him. The following car ride home was when Sally told her daughter of her history with the Comedian (but did not tell her that the Comedian was her father). Disgusted and deeply saddened for her mother's pain, Laurie never forgave the Comedian for his actions, though it seems that as time passed, and in a complicated way, Sally was able to come to terms with it, even to the point that she was willing to defend the Comedian from Laurie's derogatory remarks after he was murdered.

Shortly after the meeting of the Crimebusters, Laurie met and became involved with Dr. Manhattan, something her mother did not approve of, likening Laurie's relationship with Manhattan to being the equivalent of sleeping with an H-bomb. Drawn to him from the moment she first saw him, Laurie worked with Manhattan in some of his various domestic assignments, including the suppression of riots during the police strike of 1977. Never exactly happy being a vigilante and not happy with the government taking advantage with her relationship with the superhuman Manhattan, Laurie was more than pleased to quit being a superhero when the Keene Act of 1977 forced all but government-sponsored superheroes to retire.

Events of Watchmen

After retiring, Laurie lived with Dr. Manhattan for a number of years, but their relationship became strained, owing to Manhattan's growing disconnection with humanity. Laurie eventually left Manhattan and began living with Dan Dreiberg, a.k.a. the second Nite Owl, and the two soon became romantically involved. Dreiberg and Laurie decided to don their old costumes and take Dreiberg's airship Archie out. During their flight, they found a building on fire and rescued the inhabitants. Soon after, Laurie was brought to Mars by Manhattan, where she attempted to convince him to save humanity from impending nuclear war. During their conversation, Laurie finally came to the realization that, to her horror, her father was really the Comedian. Moved by the sheer unlikelihood of two people as different as Sally Jupiter and the Comedian producing a child, and the child being Laurie, Dr. Manhattan realized the miracle and value of human life and agreed to save the planet. The pair returned to Earth, only to find half of New York City destroyed by Adrian Veidt's creature. They teleported to Ozymandias's lair in Antarctica, where Laurie attempted to shoot Veidt, only to be thwarted by his newfound, and untried, ability to catch bullets. After realizing that Veidt's plan had worked, and that, despite the loss of several million lives, nuclear war had been averted while also uniting the nations of the world, the heroes (with the exception of Rorschach) decided that the plot should be kept secret to serve the greater good.

Shortly after these events, Laurie and Dan Dreiberg adopted new appearances and identities, now calling themselves Sam and Sandra Hollis, and sporting blonde hair. They visited Sally Jupiter - now living in a retirement home - and Laurie told her mother that she had realized the truth about her father. The issue was put to rest for Laurie, who accepted that the situation between her mother and the Comedian was too complicated, and forgave her. "Sam and Sandra" left soon afterwards, indicating that they would continue to adventure, although Laurie expressed the wish for a better superhero identity, a more protective leather outfit, a mask, and a firearm. This parallels the Comedian's change from a gaudy yellow clown suit to paramilitary gear, even the aforementioned firearm. After watching them leave, Sally picked up an old photograph of the Minutemen, which included the Comedian, and kissed his half of the picture as tears rolled down her face.

Film Version

Malin Akerman plays Laurie in the film. In it, her mother's last name is never mentioned to be "Juspeczyk". Also, Laurie's suit is somewhat different from the graphic novel. It's tighter, made of latex and includes a pair of thigh-high boots instead of high-heels.

Gallery

Poster	Classic	Telling Dan she's ready to go	Jailbreak with Nite Owl
Wallpaper

Watchmen Heroes
Minutemen
Captain Metropolis • Hooded Justice • Nite Owl I • The Comedian • Silk Spectre I • Dollar Bill • Mothman • Silhouette
Crimebusters
Captain Metropolis • Doctor Manhattan • Rorschach • The Comedian • Ozymandias • Nite Owl II • Silk Spectre II